


watchful

by danganronpa69



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [23]
Category: DanganRonpa 69: There’s MORE goddamn hope!?
Genre: ....kinda?, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, dedede is a certified himbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:14:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29669193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danganronpa69/pseuds/danganronpa69
Summary: DAY 23: “don’t look”The Conductor and Dedede have a small moment of bonding.
Relationships: can be read as condedede
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105115
Kudos: 6





	watchful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lennardd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lennardd/gifts).



The Conductor, quite frankly, didn’t like this.

He hated how his feathers clung to his skin from the dampness of the sauna. He hated how the moisture in the air made his clothes stick to him. Most of all, he hated how  _ hot  _ it was. Seriously, did that penguin always need to turn the sauna up to max heat? He supposed it was better than arguing with the latter, though, so he stayed silent.

The two of them had ended up in the sauna after a particularly loud argument. They had been trying to get along better with one another, but one thing led to the next and the two of them snapped. Well, more like  _ the Conductor  _ did. Dedede had simply pushed him to his limits that day. And now they were in the sauna, trying to make amends. The Conductor huffed and unbuttoned a bit of his coat. Despite Dedede’s protests, he’d refused to take it off before getting in, and just as expected, he was close to passing out. He’d thought he would be able to withstand it, being part Fire Spirit, but he couldn’t. 

“Gonna give up, Conductor?” the other called out from across the sauna. A smug look crossed his face as he stared down the Conductor.

The Conductor bristled. “Shut up, peck neck.”

“I don’t see why you don’t want to,” Dedede said with a shrug. “You don’t have anything to hide, do you?”

“No,” the Conductor answered quickly. 

“Sounds kinda suspicious to me.”

“I don’t have anything to hide. I just don’t want to take off my coat, alright, peck neck?” The Conductor scooted away from Dedede now. He was almost out of breath as he spoke.

“Suit yourself.” Dedede smirked.

As the two sat in silence, the sauna seemed to get hotter and hotter. Eventually, with the rising temperatures, the Conductor began to feel lightheaded, finding that he couldn’t breathe. It was too much for him to handle. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes to combat a wave of dizziness that overtook him. This sucked.

“Really, Conductor,” Dedede began, concerned, “it’s only going to get hotter in here. You need to take that off. Maybe even your shirt, too.”

The Conductor was startled back into staring at Dedede at that comment. “I am  _ not  _ taking off my shirt.” He paused, the heat of the room continuing to sink into him. “Look,” the Conductor took a deep breath, “I’ll take off my coat, but only if you promise me you’ll turn down the temperature in here a good notch.”

Dedede hesitated for a moment before giving in. “Deal, I guess. Wouldn’t want you passing out or whatever.” He shrugged and rose from where he sat, walking towards the door.

Meanwhile, the Conductor felt his heart begin to race. Why didn’t he just leave? He couldn’t take off his coat. Not while he was wearing his short-sleeved shirt underneath it. What would Dedede say? Would he even notice? If he was lucky, he wouldn’t. If he was unlucky, again, what would he say? The thought made his heart rate only pick up. The combination did not do well for him being on the verge of passing out from heat exhaustion.

Dedede walked back through the door of the sauna and frowned. “Hey, we had a deal!”

“I know,” the Conductor hissed. He paused. “I just need you to look away.”

“Look away?” Dedede echoed. “What? Why?”

“What about that is confusing?” the Conductor retorted. “I said don’t look. It means don’t look. Nothing weird about it.”

“But why?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because it’s weird.”

“And?”

Dedede went quiet, grumbling a little to himself as he resigned, looking away from the Conductor. The Conductor sighed.  _ Now what? _ Dedede would eventually turn back around. Then things would only be worse. Everything would be out in the open. He could hug his arms to himself, maybe. Sure. He’d do that and he’d try his best not to be noticed.

Carefully, the Conductor began unbuttoning the buttons on his coat, taking off the thing and setting it aside. He glance back up to check on Dedede—

_ Peck. _

The bastard was staring right at him. 

Immediately, Dedede scrambled to defend himself. “I didn’t realize you weren’t done-!”

“I would have told you.” The Conductor’s feathers flared. The audacity— the  _ blatant disrespect  _ of that man—

“I’m sorry, I—“

It took him long enough, but Dedede finally noticed. The silence between them was deafening. Just as the Conductor moved to pull his arms closer to himself—

Something clicked in Dedede’s mind. “Claw marks, right? I’ve got a ton of those from all the battles I’ve fought!” Eagerly, Dedede took off his coat, showing off a few scars on his arms and shoulders. “See? Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of, ‘cause you won those battles!”

The Conductor felt a little confused. Was Dedede being genuine? Or was he being sarcastic and pecking around with him? He couldn’t tell. “Thanks…?”

Dedede seemed to stop and think for a moment. The Conductor felt his heart begin to race again as he feared the truth settling in, but he was wrong once again. “What kind of battles would you even get into as a movie director, though?”

“Uh,” the Conductor attempted, “a lot of, uh, accidents on my train. Filming can get intense at times.” Before he could stop it, Train Rush crossed his mind. He attempted to shake the thought away.

“Oh!” Dedede exclaimed, seeming to understand at once. “Yeah, that makes sense. I guess what I’m tryin to say is don’t be ashamed, alright?”

The Conductor nodded dubiously. He still couldn’t tell if Dedede was being sarcastic or not. At this point, he didn’t want to know.

Still ridden with anxiety, the Conductor lowered his voice. “Please don’t tell anyone, though, okay?” He searched for a viable excuse. “...I don’t want anyone, er, worrying about me?”

“Sure, I can do that,” Dedede agreed. The Conductor breathed a sigh of relief. “Anything for a pal!”

“Thanks, Dedede,” he muttered.

“Hang on, did you just  _ thank me?  _ That’s a first!” Dedede laughed heartily, and the Conductor smiled a little. He really seemed to be a great guy, as…  _ misinformed _ as he was. He appreciated him. It really helped to have a good source of optimism around. 

At last, the Conductor let himself relax. With the temperature lowered and the scars situation sorted out, he finally let his guard down. As he did, a veil of exhaustion lowered itself over his mind. He’d just take a small rest, he told himself.

That veil of exhaustion eventually turned itself into a blanket of sleepiness that led to the Conductor falling into a light nap, sitting in the sauna with Dedede.


End file.
